The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

I liked the BYC link for bumble foot much better than that video. I just kept thinking, why are they cutting such a big hole?! Granted, I was quite surprised at how much came out of that foot, but the giant cut seemed unnecessary.
Question about butchering...do you all hang the bird over a bucket? Or just the ground? do you just feed the innards to the flock, or trash em?

Could you share the BYC bumble foot link you're referring to, please!

I'm so glad I found this thread! Thank you Bulldogma for starting it!
I still have some catching up to do and am loving everyones input.

Welcome! Glad you came

I had been skimming over all the Bumblefoot stuff because I'd never heard it much less seen it. Then I watched the video. Ugh! Was your hen limping? Or do you randomly inspect feet and now several people are finding the bump/hole? I couldn't imagine one of my Silver Spangled Hamburg's lying still for me to cut half her foot pad out.

I found it because I was examining everyone for something else.
I didn't notice her having problems walking but I did notice she wasn't "herself" the last couple weeks. She wouldn't even come out to get meat when the rest were going crazy over it but if I gave it to her in the hen house she'd eat it...just wouldn't go outside (and that could have been due to snow). I could tell she wasn't feeling well but as soon as I noticed her not looking well, she and her twin began to molt so I just thought it was because of the molt that she was acting different.

Before the molt started I was going to nab her at night from the roost and give her a "good looking over" but then never did. Should have gone w/my original observation that she wasn't feeling well and checked her two weeks ago. I only found her feet that way when I examined everyone yesterday.

I most likely WILL NOT do the particular kind of surgery you see on that video. I tend to agree that they were cutting a bit much and I think that if they had soaked it and put a drawing salve on it for a couple days it may have become more "ripe" to work with and not required all the drastic cutting. What really gets me on that video is the stuff they pulled out from way deep inside after the plug was out.

Not having any experience, I can only go by what folks w/experience are teaching me and what I'm seeing as I begin to work with these feet. But my hunch is that the one on the video may have come out without so much cutting if pre-treated for a few days.


Quote: I will keep taking photos as best as I can throughout the process. I'm pretty optimistic that I'll be able to get this taken care of without the kind of "drastic surgery" shown on that video.

Again...thanks for all the input on this from those of you that have experience!

 

[aoxa]

Thanks aoxa!! It actually really helps to know we're not the only ones that made culling mistakes before getting it right. Thanks for sharing your experience...


ALSO...posted this a while back and was wondering if anyone can answer this...
I have a question... trying to learn how to tell hens from roosters (before the obvious of course, like seeing them crow, etc). I've learned a lot so far but then the POW posted today seems confusing. If I were to guess, they all look like roosters to me, especially the Barred Plymouth Rock. Can someone please comment on those? I can see that one of the Australorps looks like a hen due to the absence of those fancy longer tail feathers - I have no idea what they're called. I'm sooo confused - I never would have guessed that those are all girls!

Combs are the first real way if they are not sexable by colour (or if you can't vent sex or feather sex). Other than that, you can feather sex by pointy hackles and saddles at roughly 12 weeks old.

Barred rocks are sexable by their colour. Lighter stripes are boys, darker girls. I can get into this in more detail, but I'm so tired

I'll get into this more tomorrow!

It has chipmunk markings which rules out the Silkie x Cochin eggs we put in. The (suspected) father of this chick is an EE cross with feathered feet and a beard. While we think the mother was a Dorking, it also could have been a BLRW.

White silkies hide a lot of different colours. I've had so many different colours of silkies pop out of my own.

I do think it is a silkie x cochin. It also looks too small. I bet you that it will sprout a crest - let me know if it does

 

[Mumsy]

Why do you think the one group of egg's quit at 7 days (or so)?

That is the million dollar question. I had set 13 first week pullet eggs. Eight by Phoebe and five by Edith. On the first candle on day seven, I marked one Edith egg as questionable. On the fourteen day candle, the first questionable Edith egg was still iffy to me and two Phoebe eggs were too. My eye sight is poor and I use a flash light in a dark room with dark dense shelled eggs. Mostly I can see mass and light at the the air cell end.
The day before lock-down I broke open those three eggs and they were seven day quitters. The three I missed and let go to 23 days were also seven day quitters. Four Edith and two Phoebe. I had 100% hatch on the eggs that were viable and made it through lockdown.

I have no idea why six eggs quit at the same time. My notes on the humidity, probe temp, and still air temp remained constant up until the twentieth day in lock down when I had that weird anomaly spike.
The seven chicks that hatched are beautiful rich buff in color, active, and healthy. The Edith egg that hatched last looks just like all the Phoebe chicks but smaller. I will not incubate Edith eggs again.

 

[pigeonguy]

Post number 3878

Guess that was a little late was way behind caught up now, Probably won't last though.

 

[aoxa]

I have the most terrible news I can ever imagine typing here...

My barn..

My birds.

My Clementine.

All gone...

The barn caught fire and nothing is left. I don't even know.. I don't know what to say. My heart is broken.

 

[mrsamplias]

I have the most terrible news I can ever imagine typing here... My barn.. birds. My Clementine. All gone...
The barn caught fire and nothing is left. I don't even know.. I don't know what to say. My heart is broken.

This is terrible!! I am so sorry to hear this! My heart is broken for you!

 

[Sally8]

I have the most terrible news I can ever imagine typing here...

My barn..

My birds.

My Clementine.

All gone...

The barn caught fire and nothing is left. I don't even know.. I don't know what to say. My heart is broken.

I am so sorry! I hope you all are ok. My heart is broken for you and I'm crying with you. If there is anything I can do from here or anything I have that I can share, please make it know to me. Sue

 

[Sandstorm495]

I have the most terrible news I can ever imagine typing here...

My barn..

My birds.

My Clementine.

All gone...

The barn caught fire and nothing is left. I don't even know.. I don't know what to say. My heart is broken.

I am so sorry for you. You must be going through a terrible time right now. I am so very very sad for you and I only wish I could help.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
Thanks, though!

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have the most terrible news I can ever imagine typing here...

Speechless